Florida drug sentences too harsh?

Saturday

Aug 14, 2010 at 12:01 AM

When 19-year-old Hope Sykes was sentenced in April to 15 years in prison for drug trafficking, she looked stunned.

By Cindy SwirkoStaff writer

When 19-year-old Hope Sykes was sentenced in April to 15 years in prison for drug trafficking, she looked stunned. Then she cried.The Satsuma teenager had pleaded no contest to selling 25 hydrocodone pills to an undercover officer. Her co-defendants - including her cousin Ronald Cummings, the father of missing Putnam County girl Haleigh Cummings - also face terms of at least 15 years under Florida's mandatory minimum drug sentences.Among the toughest mandatory minimum laws in the nation, Florida mandates strict prison terms - with no time off for good behavior - for convictions of drug dealing, use of a gun during a crime and sex crimes involving children.Under Florida's sentencing laws, for example, a person convicted of trafficking a weight of oxycodone that amounts to about 44 pills faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison, according to policy analysis done in October for the Florida Senate.But as Florida's prison population continues to swell and the state budget continues to shrink, some are asking whether mandatory sentences still are advisable from a standpoint of finances, fairness and effectiveness at deterring crime."Florida has some of the harshest penalties. The mandatory minimum for (trafficking) over 28 grams of Vicodin or oxycodone is 25 years. In Texas, it's two," said Deborah Fleischaker, state legislative affairs director of Families Against Mandatory Minimums."And that 25 years is the same sentence that Florida has for molestation of a child under the age of 12. So you can compare Florida to other states and it is outsized, and you can compare Florida to how it punishes other crime ... and you end up treating addicts the way you treat child molesters," she added.Compare Sykes' sentence, for example, with that of Terrill Gardner. The 18-year-old from Gainesville recently pleaded no contest to charges of manslaughter and battery in the 2008 stabbing death of Michael Deshawn Jones, 22. Gardner was sentenced in July to six years in prison.Also in July, Drew Michael Myhree, 23, of Williston, pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter of Gainesvile teenager Melissa Hein in 2008. Myhree, who police allege was high on marijuana at the time, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison.And in January, former Gainesville Police Officer David Reveille was sentenced to two years in prison following an agreement in which he pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault with intent to commit the felony of sexual battery, one count of false imprisonment, one count of official misconduct and two counts of battery.

The Florida Department of Corrections is housing 5,135 inmates serving mandatory drug sentences, spokeswoman Jo Ellen Rackleff said. DOC reported costs of $20,108 per year to keep an inmate in prison, adding up to almost $103 million to house those serving mandatory drug sentences.Florida has mandatory minimum sentences for several drugs as well as other crimes.An adult convicted of molesting a child under the age of 12 faces 25 years in prison. People who possess or fire a gun during crimes such as attempted murder, burglary or kidnapping face mandatory minimum sentences of three to 25 years, depending on the crime and the type of gun used.Mandatory minimum sentences also are meted out to habitual offenders and prison parolees who commit crimes.The Florida Legislature this year discussed some criminal justice reforms that included a possible study of mandatory minimums, but no action was taken.Criminal justice officials believe the topic will arise again."Last session, there was some discussion about reviewing them. Nothing came of them, but I expect them to continue next year," 8th Circuit State Attorney Bill Cervone said. "There is a real need for those kinds of penalties for the right people. I personally don't like mandatory anything that ties the hands either of my office or of sentencing judges."A policy analysis for the state Senate in advance of this year's regular session listed several pros and cons of mandatory minimum sentences. Among the benefits:They provide certainty in sentencing when they are imposed.They address sentencing disparities that might arise in similar cases.

Drug trafficking sentences warrant mandatory sentences.Mandatories might deter those convicted of drug trafficking from committing future trafficking crimes.Among the cons:The particular facts of a case are not the factor that determines the sentence.Judges are prevented from considering individual circumstances when sentencing.Without judicial discretion in sentencing, the importance of the decision by prosecutors on which charges to file is magnified.Mandatories can raise costs of funding the prison system.Gainesville Police Chief Tony Jones said he understands both sides of the debate."I've seen some individuals who probably merit those things. When I listen to individuals in the community, I hear time after time, 'What are you going to do about these drugs?' " Jones said."Then you hear the other side of the argument: 'This was just his first time, and he got a minimum mandatory because he did this.' "

Cervone said in a college town such as Gainesville, it is not uncommon for young adults caught selling pills to their friends to face serious time. He added that some leeway can be worked out through plea agreements.For instance, a suspect charged with selling a volume of drugs that merits a 25-year sentence could agree to plead to a charge that gets a 15-year term. Or a suspect charged with multiple counts could agree to a plea deal in which the sentences for each count would be served concurrently rather than consecutively.State Sen. Steve Oelrich, R-Cross Creek, has an interest in the debate over mandatory minimum sentences as both a legislator and as Alachua County's former sheriff. Oelrich said he believes the issue of mandatory sentences should be explored by the Legislature.Drug dealing is a serious offense that should carry serious penalties, he said, adding he has no opinion on whether mandatory sentences are a deterrent.And the state budget will continue to be a factor in the debate, he said."We are looking to try to prioritize who goes to prison. Obviously, crimes of violence get priority - murder, assault, robbery," Oelrich said. "I think there is room for adjustment."Contact Cindy Swirko at 374-5024 or swirkoc@gvillesun.com.